When the United Nations’ General Assembly voted last Friday on an important war crimes report, the absence of U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice was noticeable. Diplomats and UN observers speculated why Rice was missing from a decision on the Goldstone Report, which discussed alleged atrocities committed by Israel and Hamas. The Obama administration supported the Israeli position and voted against endorsing the report. Yet Obama has also emphasized the need to engage the Arab world, so some observers wondered if he was trying to make a statement by keeping Rice away from the vote.

So where was Susan Rice when the U.N. was debating and voting on the Goldstone Report? Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies has pointed out that Rice was taping an interview with Jon Stewart for The Daily Show. During her dull chat with Stewart, the American ambassador discussed how the Obama administration is establishing a new “era of engagement” with the world to demonstrate the president’s commitment to making international diplomacy more of a priority than his predecessor.